The head of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) in Ethiopia says the country's emergency food stocks are almost completely exhausted, with drought conditions expected to worsen before they improve. There are also growing concerns about food shortages in Ethiopia's reclusive neighbor, Eritrea.
联合国世界粮食计划署埃塞俄比亚负责人说，该国的紧急粮食储备几乎完全耗尽，目前的干旱灾情预计会进一步恶化。人们对塞俄比亚的邻国厄立特里亚的粮食短缺问题也日渐担忧。
WFP's Ethiopia Country Director Abdou Dieng says despite a good response to international appeals for food aid, Ethiopia faces a critical shortfall in emergency supplies. He says the reserve established by the government to prevent a recurrence of past food crises is almost empty.
联合国世界粮食计划署埃塞俄比亚办公室主任阿卜杜·迪昂说，尽管国际社会对粮食援助的请求作出很好的回应，但埃塞俄比亚的紧急粮食供应依然面临严重短缺。他表示，该国政府为防止再度发生粮食危机而建立的粮食储备几乎已经耗尽。
"There is food reserve, but today it's almost at zero level. We cannot count on that. Now what we are trying to do is increase the level of the food which can be kept in the reserve. We can go up to one million tons [and] we're talking about 80 million people here who need food, so this is exactly where we are working together to try to increase the food reserve," noted Dieng.
迪昂说：“我们有粮食储备，但是现在已几乎处于零的水平。我们不能依靠储备。现在我们正设法提高能用作储备的粮食数量。最多能有100万吨，这里有8千万人需要食物，所以我们正在合作设法提高粮食储备。”
Of Ethiopia's 80 million people, Dieng says between 13 million and 14 million are receiving some sort of food assistance. The government estimates 4.5 million need emergency food aid, but experts expect that number to keep rising until the rains come, allowing farmers to plant and harvest life saving crops.
迪昂说，在埃塞俄比亚的8千万人口中，1300万到1400万人正获得某种粮食援助。政府估计，450万人需要紧急粮食援助，但专家预计这一数字将持续上升，直到降雨来临，使农民得以种植和收割救命的粮食。
The WFP official says $200 million in donations has been received since the onset of the current drought. Dieng estimates another $100 million will be necessary to meet Ethiopia's needs until the end of the year.
这名世粮署官员说，自从发生这次干旱以来，已经收到了2亿美元的捐助。他估计，从现在到今年年底，还需要1亿美元以满足埃塞俄比亚的需要。
Dieng also said the WFP is monitoring reports filtering out of Eritrea suggesting food shortages there as well. The reports are hard to verify, and Eritrea's autocratic government has denied the drought is affecting food supplies. But satellite images indicate the country is affected by the same weather pattern that has victimized much of the Horn of Africa.
迪昂还说，世粮署正在监测关于厄立特里亚也出现粮食短缺的报告。这些报告很难证实，厄立特里亚的专制政府否认旱灾对粮食供应造成影响。但卫星图像显示，该国已受到危害非洲之角大部分地区的同样天气的影响。
Dieng says Eritrean refugees arriving at camps in northern Ethiopia are saying the Asmara, Eritrea, government tries to prevent them from leaving, and that conditions are deteriorating.
迪昂指出，抵达埃塞俄比亚北部地区难民营的厄立特里亚难民说，阿斯马拉政府设法阻止他们逃离，当地的状况正在恶化。
"All this is speculation," Dieng added. "What we know is you can't have a drought in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya in a certain area and not having the same [nearby]. But what we heard from the government in Eritrea, they say there is no problem when it comes to food aid in Eritrea. But for people crossing the border and coming into Ethiopia that we interview, we know there is some problem, and we are monitoring that very closely."
迪昂说：“所有这些都是揣测。我们知道，不可能埃塞俄比亚、索马里和肯尼亚的某些地区发生干旱，而邻近的地区没有发生。然而，我们从厄立特里亚政府那里听到的是，该国粮食援助方面没有问题。但是，通过采访越过边境进入埃塞俄比亚的厄立特里亚人，我们了解到存在一些问题，我们正对此密切监控。”
Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson last month said many Eritrean refugees fleeing to Ethiopia are suffering from life-threatening malnutrition. He urged officials in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, to cooperate with U.N. agencies and international organizations to address the issues of hunger and food shortages.
美国负责非洲事务的助理国务卿约翰尼·卡森上个月说，逃到埃塞俄比亚的许多厄立特里亚难民营养不良。他敦促厄立特里亚首都阿斯马拉的官员与联合国机构和国际组织合作，解决饥饿和粮食短缺问题。
The WFP's Dieng estimates the number of Eritrean refugees at camps in northern Ethiopia at a few thousand. That is nowhere near as large as the more than 150,000 Somali refugees in southern and eastern Ethiopia, and the even larger numbers in Kenya.
世界粮食计划署的迪昂估计，埃塞俄比亚北部难民营中的厄立特里亚难民数量为几千人。这与埃塞俄比亚南部和东部的15万多索马里难民比起来要少得多，比起在肯尼亚的索马里难民人数则更少。
He says the U.N. agency technically maintains an office in Asmara, but has not had any international staff there since 2005, and is not able to monitor conditions in the nation of 5 million.
迪昂说，联合国世粮署在阿斯马拉保留办公室，但是从2005年以来那里就没有国际职员，无法监控这个500万人口的国家的状况。 |